Sunday, October 28, 2012

Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day Giveaway!

Throughout Vegan Mofo, I've been blogging about sandwiches a few times each week. Now, I've always loved a good sandwich, but I must admit that my Mofo theme was influenced by a very special new cookbook — Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day by Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes.

My copy arrived from Amazon just a few days before Mofo began, and I knew I wanted to spend much of the month drooling over it and trying a few things. And then, as if by some strange twist of fate, Tami asked me to participate on the Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day blog tour. That means I'll be doing a review here, and then we're giving away a copy to one lucky Crunk reader!

A flip through this full-color volume reveals that same rustic-meets-retro photography that has become so synonymous with Celine's previous work with Joni Newman. That's because Celine does all the photography, and she has a style all her own. Tami's downhome influence shines through in so many of the recipes, which are all comfort food, pure and simple.

The 101 sandwich recipes are organized by type: There's a chapter for breakfast sandwiches (my fave! check out my review of the Country Tempeh Sandwich), topless sandwiches (open-faced if you're prudish), cold sandwiches, diner-style sandwiches, dessert sandwiches, and one devoted to "bold new ground" (crazy sandwiches that push the culinary envelope).

Of course, I flipped the book straight to the Bold New Ground chapter. I love going on crazy new taste adventures. The Mac-Shroom immediately caught my attention:

Why, yes, that is macaroni and cheese on a bun. And it's sitting atop a barbecue portabella mushroom. Brill, huh? The recipe reminded me of the Mac-No-Cheeto Wrap (mac & cheese, BBQ Soy Curls, and peppers on a wrap) from Homegrown Smoker in Portland. BBQ sauce and mac & cheese go together like butter and toast. Oh, and this sauce is homemade with all sorts of stuff you wouldn't expect to find in a 'cue sauce, like apple butter and freshly brewed coffee. But it works! The sauce has a smoky-sweet flavor that is just amazing.

There are so many sandwiches I want to try from this book: the Retro KFC-Style Sandwiches (made with cornflake-crusted homemade seitan!), the Torta de Tofu (marinated tofu, avocado, and veggies on a baguette), the Bananas Foster Cake Sandwiches (basically an ice cream sandwich with cake as the sandwich), French Tofu Salad Sandwich (tofu and white grapes!), and the Navajo Tacos (Indian tacos with homemade fried bread).

If you don't have the book yet, you too can have a list of must-makes. All you have to do is leave a comment here telling me about your favorite sandwich, and you'll be entered for a chance to win a copy of Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day. I'll randomly select a winner on Wednesday night. By the publisher's request, the contest is only open to readers in the U.S. and Canada. If you're Blogger profile does not include an email or way to contact you, please leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win.

ooohhh, I'm Israeli, but my brother lives in the US, does it count? My current favourite is pita bread stuffed with cheakpea pancake, which is my favourite alternative to scrambled eggs (cheapea floer, water, tons of spices, nooch and onion/garlic/ shrooms variation), hummus spread and whatever hot and spicy spread that's currently in the front of the refrigirator:Georgian adjika, Yemenite s'hoog or Moroccan Arisa.

I'm not very creative in the sandwich department (which is why I need this book!) Despite being vegetarian for over 20 years I've just discovered homemade seitan. So the "seitan o greatness" with a little mayo is my current fave.

My favorite sandwich is the "Mitch Tofu Club" from Spiral Diner in Fort Worth. It's grilled tofu topped with lettuce, tomato, and bac'un bits. The best part, though, is the chipotle mayo and the extra piece of bread in the middle. I'm drooling just thinking about it!

I'm liking a twist on a peanut butter sandwich right now. I spread homemade thai peanut sauce on bread then add crunchy veggies, such as cukes, peppers, green onion, maybe some bean sprouts. Yum! Really perks up a boring day at work.

Here's the thing: I'm not a sandwich person. Gasp! But you see, I WANT to be. Matt would love it if I'd make more sandwiches around here, but I have trouble getting inspired. This book would be just the ticket!

I love to sautee bell peppers and onions. Then, I put some tomato slices in the toaster oven with soy cheese on top and bake it at 350 until the cheese is golden. I then put the three on toasted sourdough bread with veganaise.

Oh hooray, your giveaway is open to Canadians. :) And I totally remember the mac-no-cheeto, what a carby beast that was, ha ha! My sandwich preference is always rotating, but yesterday I had bahn mi and it's definitely my current fave. (allysiak@gmail.com!)

YUM!! I love grilled cheese with Daiya pepperjack and roasted red peppers and onions, fresh veggie sandwiches on marble rye with tons of fresh sprouts and of course chickpea salad sandwiches! So good! Would love a copy of this book!!

That mac and bbq portobella looks amazing. My fav is something we named the picnic sandwich. It is grilled veggies, onions, greens, brazil nut cheese, and sundried tomato pine nut pesto on a baguette. Wrap it in foil. It gets better the longer it sits before the picnic.

Homemade za'atar or vegan cheese flatbread wrapped up with fresh mint, tomatoes, and olives or a falafel pita with lots of pickles and turnips. What can I say, I'm part Lebanese, I grew up in this stuff. tabouli (my dad makes the best tabouli on the planet) stuffed in a pita with hummus and olives makes a mighty fine sandwich as well as tomatoes, olives, onions, lettuce, and mustard (I hate mayo, vegan or otherwise). Oh, and a toasted banana sandwich with just earth balance and a mushed up banana is just kickass and a childhood favourite I still love. And don't forget the proverbial veggie burger....Okay, that isn't one, sorry, but it's soooo hard to choose. although, my Scottish grandfather loves an apple and date sandwich. now that's just weird.

My favorite sandwich is the Philly cheese steak from Imagine Vegan Cafe! After years of peanut butter boredom and tired ol' tofu my taste buds just about exploded when I ate this. If I was a sandwich I'd do it :)

i just found a new favorite- a vegan banh mi (recipe in vegetarian times i think). i made it for a pre-concert picnic with my omni friends and they all loved it! the pickled carrot daikon mixture was the yummiest part.

My favorite sandwich is a slightly interesting, but delicious combination of tastes and flavors. The coop in Bozeman, Montana has an option to build your own sandwich and you can even watch them put it all together at their deli counter! They have the best grilled Jamaican jerk tofu and I top it with veg-friendly mayo, spicy brown mustard, lettuce, tomato, avocado and the BEST OF ALL, pickled onions made right there at the coop. It's all grilled under a panini press on delicious ciabatta bread. Pickles and all natural blue corn tortilla chips top off this lunch I get to enjoy while I'm in town! My e-mail is tumblesonabbie@yahoo.com.

One of the favorite sandwiches that I have had was a vegan seitan al pastor sandwich from the Cinnamon Snail in New York City this summer. It was seitan, beer-battered jalapeños, grilled pineapple pieces, arugula, with spicy vegan mayonaise and spices served on a grilled mutli-grain baguette. SUPER YUM!

I love Gardein's burger, it's my fav these days, but for a homemade sammy I love tempeh used in place of tuna to make a untuna (and use kelp flaes for the sea flavor) -- I'd love to win this book so I can experiment with all the contents.I'm at kers9455 [at] gmail.com